That Perfect Stitch

I learned to quilt by taking serveral classes and by reading lots of quilting books. If anything, I consider myself a mostly self-taught quilter. Anyone who quilts knows that the content of nearly all quilting books and magazines is primarily concerned with featuring different patterns, as well as simplified directions on piecing, layering, binding, etc. With all the patterns out there, what seems to get lost in the process is the actual quilting itself. In fact, I have found that a lot of books and magazines simply tell you to "quilt as desired." Almost nowhere can you find explicit directions on how to do just that: quilt. Before this book, my attempts at quilting with a needle have been met with dismal failure. It took me forever to badly quilt just a few inches of fabric, and I got sore hands fingers in the process. Because I never learned the real basics of quilting with a needle, I had tons of unfinished pieced quilt tops lying around. I managed to finish a few quilts only because I ended up tying them. Finally, in That Perfect Stitch (and I understand from Roxanne's website that there is even an accompanying video), I have figured out how to quilt a quilt. Roxanne not only explains how the fabric, batting, thread, and needles afffects the final outcome of the quilting stitch, she also gives very explicit photographs showing how to make a proper rocking stitch. I learned something new in each chapter of Roxanne's book. Quilters everywhere simply must read this book. It will really open your eyes and save you *tons* of time and frustration.

First off, I'm a guy and I've never sewn in my life. I started to make a quilt for my mom as a joke. Everyone said I couldn't do it. This book shows exactly how to make the quilting stitch in perfect detail. You can't screw it up! The best part of the book is the product recommendations. Buy everything that Roxanne rates a 10, especially her thimble. Buy this book, you will be inspired! Oh yeah, and I'm not a homosexual.

This is an extraordinary book that really surprised me. I have read tons of quilting books and most of them are inspiring visually but not many have taught me how to improve my technique. I am a beginning quilter so I've really been hunting for help. The author of this book did tons of research on all the different materials used in quilting and set out to find out why some work better than others. It sounds like it would be dry reading but somehow she makes it fascinating. I have no doubt that the next time I put needle to quilt I will have a better stitch and a better understanding of why the materials work together in the way they do. Oh and besides the interesting text you will see some stunning quilts.

If you are a quilter or have a desire to quilt at some point, this book will save you much time and money, and most likely help you avoid many of the mistakes a self-taught quilter makes over the years. This book gives you the information you need to make the right selection of tools and materials so that your project will be a beautiful display of workmanship that will be admired not only by yourself but by others as well. Much research has been done to inform you of the proper needles to use, the right style of thimble, how to identify the best cloth for your project, the best way to mark your quilt for the final stitching, and how to care for your quilt when you have finished it. This is the best book on hand quilting I have ever purchased. I would recommend it to anyone, novice or expert, who is interested in quilting. This is the best investment a quilter could make.

As one who is always trying to better her hand quilting, my eye was immediately drawn to this title in my local quilting store. The clerk said that the store's most esteemed hand quilter loved the book, and so, as a splurge, I purchased it. I would have to say that this is now the most treasured book in my quilting books collection. I have never read any book more thorough on hand quilting. Although I love Ami Simms' book, and learned to hand quilt through it first, this one goes above and beyond the other. McElroy garners a firm confidence from her reader, establishing again and again that she has done her research from every possible angle on every aspect of hand quilting. I learned so much about needles, frames, fabric, pens, pencils, fabrics, thimbles, and stencils from this book! She is even willing to go as far as to rate different products from each of the aforementioned categories (and more), according to her research (which goes from chiropractors to chemists to needle factories in Britain). I could not possibly give this book a higher rating!